Eternal Night
by Novarin
Summary: Danny has a pretty good life. He's got good friends, people to depend on, and an average love-hate relationship with school. But once Summer Vacation draws near, he begins to notice strange things with his best friend Grant, and soon gets pulled into an adventure he never could have dreamed of, even if he never wanted it.
1. Chapter 1

**Here I am with a new(ish) fic! Well, it's actually kind of a remake of my first one, since there were a ton of issues with it. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own or claim ownership of any part of the Kingdom Hearts Franchise. **

* * *

"..anny! Wake up!" Through the sleepy haze that is my mind, I can hear someone's urgent whispering. I crack open an eye, slowly adjusting to the brightness of the room. However, I can feel myself falling asleep again, long before I can even come close to waking up. And of course, something hard and thin soon collides with the side of my head.

Well now I'm wide awake.

I immediately jerk my head up from the desk and glare at the boy in the next one over. "You didn't need to throw a pen at me, you know!"

Grant flashes a sheepish grin back at me. "Would you rather get chewed out by Mr. Wright?" As if on cue, the brown haired, middle-aged man lecturing the class turns right toward the back corner of the room, training his harsh gaze right on me. I can't help but flinch and sit up straight; the guy is scary.

"Good point," I whisper back. Without looking over to him I can already tell he has that stupid smile of his back on.

As Mr. W continues to drone on and on about some book, I can't help but start zoning out. For some reason, I can't get that weird dream I had out of my mind. I don't usually have ones so vivid, much less ones I can fully remember 20 minutes later. It just felt... different. What was all of that about "holding the strongest weapon of all"? I know it was just a dream and all, but it sounded a lot like some kind of prophetic one or something. The thought makes me laugh a bit. Yeah, like that could ever happen.

"Daniel!" A deep voice jolts me from my thoughts rather abruptly. So much so that I actually jump up with enough force to knock my stuff off of my desk. Hushed laughter travels around the class, and I can practically feel the blood flooding into my cheeks.

"Y-yes?" _Please don't ask me what's going on..._

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class? You obviously have something on your mind." Darn it. Why does he always have to catch me? Like, five other people were talking at the same time! I get the feeling he doesn't like me sometimes.

"I was just asking Grant if he could explain the equation for me. I didn't want to interrupt your teaching." I said it without thinking, even though I immediately regretted it. He'll see through that lie in a second; the man has ears like a bat. I wish I wasn't such an impulsive liar sometimes... However, he just gives me an annoyed look and goes back to teaching. Since when does he let _me_ off that easily?

"I guess he's just tired of dealing with you," Grant whispers quickly, as if he knew what I was thinking. Sometimes I wonder if he really is psychic.

* * *

After school, the two of us head home together, like we do every day. It's a good thing the bus route goes close to both of our destinations. I don't think I'd be able to stand it if I had to sit on a public bus alone every day. Today, the bus is full of people, which is odd even for Marinae City. I can already tell this ride is going to last a while.

"So Danny, what was with you in class earlier today?" Grant suddenly says. "You were pretty out of it, even more than usual."

I don't say anything for a few seconds. It's hard to explain. "It was just some weird nightmare. Nothing to worry about." Grant doesn't seem convinced. You just can't lie to him. But for once, he keeps his mouth shut. Never thought I'd see the day.

The rest of the bus ride is awkward, neither of us say a thing. Every few minutes, it's like one of us wants to speak up, but ultimately decide against it. By the time my stop comes around, I'm almost glad to wave good-bye and step off. Man that was awkward.

The hot air is a welcome reminder that summer's almost here, but I'd rather still be in the air-conditioned bus right now. Or at least have it stop closer to the orphanage. It's like a five minute walk from here...

By the time I reach the stone building, my shirt is uncomfortably wet with sweat. At least it's a lot cooler near the sea. There's a nice salty breeze blowing through; it's rejuvenating. Before I go in, I head out to the railing to get a nice whiff of the ocean air. A seagull squawks overhead, just barely heard over the din of cars in the background. Man, a city this close to the beach. How do people even relax down there? But I guess it still has its charm.

"Daniel? Is that you?" I nearly fell over the railing in surprise when I heard that voice. What is with people sneaking up on others? I turn around, my eyes immediately locking onto a stocky man who had to be in his fifties standing by the door. "What are you doing out there? Get back in here before you melt." Mr. Hale holds the door open as I walk inside, and I have to say, it is better to be inside, where the air is nice and cool.

He closes the wooden door behind us, combing back his hair with his palm as he did so (not that it was fooling anybody). For some reason, he's wearing a brown suit, which really doesn't fit him if you ask me. "So, how was school today? You didn't get into any trouble again, right?"

I can't really look him in the eye after he asks the dreaded question. "Well, you see, I... didn't get in _as_ much trouble."

At first, his eyes narrow, and his jovial expression drops completely. But he recovers his composure after a second, ruffling my hair with a hand. I wish he wouldn't do that. "I thought as much. I know it's almost Summer Break and all, but you still gotta try, buddy. Now how about you get started on your homework with the other kids? I'll be bringing over a snack soon."

"I'm not five you know."

"Yeah, yeah." With that, he walks away to the kitchen, probably to whip up one of his "experiments" for an after school snack. I just hope Lucy's here to stop him from poisoming us with bad sushi and frog legs again.

Well, I guess it won't be my problem for another ten minutes either way. I'll just have to finish up fast, just in case. I start up the creaky wooden staircase in the foyer to the second floor, passing a few kids on the way. They're apparently playing tag or something, probably already done with their homework. I wish mine was still that easy.

By the time I reach the Work Room, there's only three kids still doing homework. There's Josh, working as diligently as always. I will never understand how someone can like school as much as him, and he's like two years older than I am. His work must be impossible! Then there are Wendy and Tracy, chatting like crazy. I can't even tell what their conversation is about, probably something related to what boys they like at school. Do they ever talk about anything else?

Choosing a seat on a couch on an empty side of the room, I plop my backpack onto the floor. Luckily, I didn't have too much to carry home, so it didn't make too loud of a sound on the wood. But man, this was going to take a while to do.

By the time Mr. Hale came in with the food, I was still on the fifth math problem. I knew I shouldn't have left my calculator at school! And I doubt anyone's going to let me borrow there's after the last time. I still don't know how that thing shorted out when I was just holding it.

Well, it looks like there's only one thing to do in this situation.

I shut my book and put it right back in my bag. Grant probably did it by now since he's like a genius or something when it comes to algebra. I can just get the answers from him tomorrow on the bus. I love having a smart friend. I think it's about time I called it a day. Josh shoots me a glare as I stand up, probably guessing that I hadn't finished yet. He doesn't try to stop me though.

I don't know why, but I feel exhausted already. Something about today has made me feel really lethargic, even though I took a nap in two classes today. Maybe I just went to bed late yesterday. So once I reach the boy's room on the third floor, I practically collapse onto my bed. I can go without dinner, I'll just get a midnight snack or a large breakfast sometime. I close my eyes, and in minutes, I'm fast asleep.


	2. Summer Begins

I have never been more bored in my entire life. Well, I probably have, but this is incredibly boring too.

Mrs. Yates continues to drone on about some poem about snow or something, but I there are far more important things if you ask me. Like grass growing. All I can think about is what today is: the last day of school. I can't wait to go swimming at the beach, play video games all day, and sleep in for hours. But until then, I'm stuck listening to a literary analysis about a poem. I'm pretty sure he just meant the curtains were blue, and they didn't "represent" anything.

"I'm guessing you're bored, huh?" Grant whispers, leaning over. "You should just listen for once. It's actually pretty good."

"It snows all the time in Winter," I whisper back. "I don't need to hear a poem about it. I just want to go enjoy my Summer Vacation."

He sighs quietly. I guess he _has_ heard this from me hundreds of times. But it's still relevent "Just a few more hours today, and then we're free."

"It's still a few hours..."

"Is there someone talking back there?" Mrs. Yates asks. We both straighten out in our seats, staring forward. Fortunately, she doesn't push it. And I can go back to my favorite activity during school: daydreaming about break.

* * *

Once Grant and I are on the bus back home, there are no words to describe how ecstatic I am. I can't wait to get home and play some video games! Then I'll binge watch some TV and eat nothing but junk food. But Grant... he seems really out of it. All he's doing is glaring out the window intently, and when he's not, he's glancing at his phone for texts or something.

I step in front of him and wave my hand in front of his face."Hey, snap out of it!" This seems to work a little, but not really. He just focuses his eyes on me for a second before looking back at his phone. What's his deal? "Okay, what's up? Miss school already? You're such a nerd."

"Yeah, uh, that must be it," he says, obviously not paying much attention. Rude. Okay, that's it. Time to pull out the big guns.

The next time Grant looks out the window, I reach out and snatch his phone from him. That brings him back to reality. Victory! "Hey, give it back!"

I hold the phone away from him, behind my back. Let's just say I can't exactly hold it above my head to keep it out of reach. He'd get it in an instant that way. But even his arms aren't long enough to get it when I hold it like this. I'm just glad there's nearly no one on the bus today.

"No way! Not until you tell me what's going on!"

"It's a secret, and really important! Now hand it over." There's obvious fury in his voice, but I'm not yielding. Even he doesn't act this weird all the time.

"Or you know, I could just read those texts you've been getting." His eyes go wide, and he resumes his struggle with more intensity. That doesn't even come close to stopping me. I hold the phone just close enough to read, and begin.

"3:21, from Charlotte. Wow, you actually text your sister? Lame. 'They're down by the orphanage. Get there as fast as possible?" Well, first, who texts with that brand of proper grammar? Second of all...

"What's down by the orphanage?" Now it's my turn to look pissed. Grant finally stops trying to grab his phone back, simply looking defeated.

"Okay, I'll explain. But later." I look out the window. It's already my stop; we skipped his completely. Before I can even ask another question, Grant's running off the bus. I stand there in shock for so long, I almost forget to get off.

I follow my friend to the corner right before the Coastline Street. He peers around, obviously tense. "Okay if you don't give me some answers soon, I swear, I'll-"

"Shut up already!" Grant hisses back. He looks again, and obviously, he sees something. Something that makes him jump. But before I can see too, he mutters something under his breath. I suddenly feel very off-balance. I'm so tired... It's like I forgot to sleep for days. My eyelids feel like they're attached to bricks. I can't help but fall to my knees.

The last thing I see before my eyes close for good is a flash of bright light, and a sound like unsheathing a sword.

* * *

"...think he's waking up!" What the heck? I open my eyes, but a bright light nearly blinds me. Eventually, I'm able to adjust and sit up, but my head hurts like hell. I'm in my bed, apparently, and someone is standing right by it. Large mop of curly brown hair? Check. Huge round glasses? double-check.

"Anna, what are you doing in here?" She jumps in surprise. What? was she not expecting me to wake up that quickly or something? I was just asleep.

"Wow, you really do recover fast!" She smiles broadly, but I can see a little relief in her face as well. What the heck? "I mean, you've been out practically all day. I thought you'd never get up."

"All day?" I shout. "What do you mean I've been 'out all day?" How long was I asleep? I thought I just took a nap after school or something, not slept an entire day!

"Well, I, uh..." She was obviously flustered, which I guess is my fault. But I still want answers.

"You were unconscious for five hours," someone suddenly says in a deadpan tone. I whip my head toward the voice, surprised that someone else is there. And I have to say, I'm surprised to see Josh here in general. He's just sitting on his bed, reading a book. How come I didn't notice him before? Well, I guess he is kinda quiet, and his dark hair and clothing choices really help him blend in, even for a 6'4 16-year-old. "Were you doing parkour again or something? We found you in an alley."

My face burns at the mention of it. I thought he swore to never talk about that incident again! "I-I was _not_ trying that again! Besides, I think I'd remember that!"

He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't look away from his book. "Oh yeah? Then what were you up to?"

That makes me go silent. "I have no idea. I was just out with Grant, and then..." I rack my brain for an answer, but nothing comes to mind. The last thing I remember is trying to see what Grant was looking at. Speaking of which, where was he?

"Are you sure he didn't knock you out?" Anna says with a giggle. "He seems strong enough to take you out. But then again, so are squirrels."

Before I can say anything, Josh interrupts. Good thing too. I had some choice words. "Anna, how about you go downstairs to finish up the movie? I've got this." She shoots him a glare, but stands up straight and leaves the room. Good riddance.

Wait, did he say movie?

"Before you try to leave, you need to stay in bed. Moving around would probably" too late. I've already stood up. And immediately, a weird feeling of vertigo blasts over me, nearly making me fall to the ground. At least I'm able to fall back onto my bed. "cause extreme vertigo." Joh says with a sigh. "You hit your head pretty hard; I wouldn't be surprised if you have a concussion."

I cross my arms and lay down in the bed. What am I supposed to do now? The first night of summer ruined because... something happened! And I'm definitely going to find out what tomorrow.

"By the way, there's supposed to be a storm tomorrow afternoon." Josh chimes in. "Or is it night?" Okay then, _early_ tomorrow!


	3. The Mission

**Man, this took me a while to write. But the good new is, we're only one chapter away from *suddenly gagged, probably for the best***

* * *

"You do realize this isn't necessary, right?" Josh asks. "I mean, do you really think you need to spy on your best, if only, friend? Just ask him."

I stuff a pair of binoculars into my backpack. "He won't tell me, that much is obvious. So, the only logical solution is following him around to see what he's hiding." I can hear him sigh behind me. Who cares what he thinks? I'm finding out what Grant is up to if it's the last thing I do.

"You're logic is kind of flawed," he mutters back, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Watch it! Or I'm not letting you come along."

"Travid's making me so you don't fall off a balcony or something. Why do I always get stuck babysitting you guys?"

"Because he thinks you're one of the only responsible ones. Now are you in or not?"

"I'm coming. But don't think it's because I want to." I try not to show it, but I'm kind of relieved. I'd get so bored spying on Grant on my own, even if I brought a book to keep me busy. You can't exactly watch someone and read at the same time.

I heft my bag onto my shoulders, ready to go. Maybe Josh was right, and I packed excessively, but I want to be sure I'm fine for the day. But before either of us can get moving, the door slams open. Standing there is the person I least want to see: Anna. And she's hefting a bag almost as large as mine.

It can't be...

"I see you're ready to go, Danny," she says with a grin. "I was wondering how long it would take you slowpokes."

The words fly out before I can restrain them. "Who said you could come along?" I shout at her. I can't help myself. Even spending a whole day by myself would be better than an hour with her!

Josh raises a hand, the look on his face as apathetic as ever. "That would be me." I shoot him an icy glare. Why can't he understand that Anna and I can't spend time around each other? All we do is fight. And she causes them all! "Did you really expect me to spend time with only you all day? Even your crazy conspiracy theories get stale after a while."

Anna adjusts her bag. "Yeah, Danny. We all know you're a little crazy, but it gets old to hear that homework is a plot to steal our youth."

"Well at least I've got something going on in my brain!"

"Says the guy who averages straight D's?"

Okay, that's it! And I can tell Anna's feeling the same way. But before I can take two steps toward her, something collides with the side of my face. Hard. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground and Anna's positively hysterical. I whip my head toward Josh, who's reaching down to pick up the hardcover book he'd thrown at me.

"Was that really necessary?" I yell at him. "Why did you hit me and not her?" I can practically feel the mark that book must have made on my face...

"You were closer," He replies bluntly. "Now let's get going already. If I'm already roped into this, we might as well get started." I pick myself off the ground as the two of them leave the room. How did everything already get off track like this?

****Marinae city****

"You know, I'm pretty sure this qualifies as stalking," Anna quips. "I mean, we've been following him all day."

"I'm just surprised he hasn't noticed us yet," Josh says with a sigh. "I mean, I get the feeling you've done this before." My eyes narrow.

"Seriously?" I ask. "Why do you think I do stuff like this all of the time?"

The two of them speak at the same time, with practically identical deadpan expressions. "Because you do."

"No, I don't."

"What about that time you tried to break into the school through the roof to get a book from the library?" Josh asks.

"And the time you interrogated that kid for supposedly stealing you calculator." Anna explains.

"You brought us along for both of those too, now that I think about it." Okay, I'm annoyed with both of them now. Why did I bring them along?

Oh wait, I didn't.

"Both of you shut up. He's on the move." Finally, Grant's gotten his food from the fast-food place and he's on his way out. Without waiting for Josh or Anna, I start to follow. I honestly couldn't care less if they keep following. If anything, they'll make me easier to spot.

Luckily, there are plenty of people out today, and because of it, I'm able to sneak through the crowds, just the perfect distance behind him (as described by James Bond movies). He'll never know I'm here!

****Marinae City****

Of course, that wouldn't be too bad. Maybe Josh was right and I should have just asked him outright. Grant doesn't do anything interesting, and on his first day off of school! It's a good thing I'm friends with him, or he'd never do anything cool. I mean, what kind of guy goes to the bank, willingly, and doesn't even get the free candy? What was he even doing there, getting a loan?

While I'm peering out of an alley, there's a tap on my shoulder. I jump and spin around, not exactly surprised to see that it's Anna. Josh already went home. "What do you want? I'm spying."

She rolls her eyes. "Stalking, actually. But you should probably know that it looks like it's about to rain in a few minutes." Huh? I look up at the sky. Well, there sure are dark clouds everywhere, but it doesn't really look like rain. Or a hurricane. I'm no meterowhat-agist, but it doesn't exactly look like rain. But either way, I don't want to get stuck in the rain like this.

Once again, there's another tap on my shoulder. I don't look this time, knowing it's just Anna being weird again. But I'm proven wrong in the next few seconds.

"You really have to stop stalking me." Okay, that voice was way too deep to be Anna. I turn around and practically scream in surprise.

"Grant? What are you doing here?" His eyes narrow. "I mean, uh... didn't know you were around." I try to lean casually against the building next to me. "You know, it's kind of rude to sneak up on people like this."

"Danny."

"You didn't even tell me you didn't want to hang out today."

"Danny, seriously."

"I mean, where's the love and friendsh-"

"Danny!" Okay, his shout was loud. Loud enough to finally shut me up. "Why were you following me all day? And don't tell me it was Anna's or Josh's idea." Curses. I knew they were too obvious.

"Well..."

"This is about yesterday, isn't it?" Wow, straight to the point. Gotta give it to him sometimes.

I give him a sheepish grin. "Kinda."

He sighs. I feel like I've heard that a lot today. Or lately. In my life...

"Look, I know everyone has their secrets and whatever, but yesterday was weird, okay? You don't run around through alleys all worried, keep me from seeing stuff, and people don't just fall asleep! Now can you just tell me what's going-" Suddenly, a boom of thunder races over us. Wow, that sounds close. The two of us look up at the sky. It's only been a minutes or two, but the sky's already filled with black clouds. We're just in time to see another bolt of lightning race across them.

"Look, I'll explain later, but I really have to get home right now. You two should too." I almost forgot Anna was still here with all of this going on. But even so, I'm not letting this go. I reach out and grab his arm as hard as I can before Grant can run away.

"Oh no you don't. I'm going with you, and you can't stop me." He gives me a stern glare, but I return it with a harsh one. I'm not backing down on this one. But after a few moments of this stare down, he finally backs down, annoyed groan included.

"Fine. I can't shake you off for long. But try to stay close; this might get rough."

"Wait, do you mean because of the rain and crowds?" Anna asks. Again, who invited her?

"Yeah, sorta." Grant takes off, and it isn't long before we start to follow.


	4. The Beginning

Grant weaves through the crowds of people, almost too quickly for me to keep up. I can only barely keep him in sight. Whereas he manages to slip through openings between people, I always get walled off the moment I try to do the same. It's like every time a group of people tries to get through a crowd, only the person in front has it easy. It doesn't help that we're in the pouring rain either.

The day has practically turned to night with all of the rain clouds in the sky. You'd never know it was only 3 O'clock. I keep finding myself looking back up at it. I don't know why, but it gives me a weird feeling, like a rock dropping into my stomach. What's the word? Dread? Yeah, that's it. It's like something terrible's about to happen, but it's just rain, right?

Despite Grant's speed, it doesn't take me long to realize where he's headed: his house. Sure, that makes sense. But he seems much too worried to just be going there because it's a storm. Even a hurricane doesn't come on fast enough for him to be racing home. There's definitely something else on his mind. Is it the same feeling I have?

Eventually, we make it out of the shopping district and away from the gigantic crowds. Now, we can actually keep up with Grant. Well, for now. I doubt I can keep up long enough to reach his house. I'm not exactly what one might call, athletic. His house is, like, fifteen minutes away, even while running like this. I can't run this fast for that long!

Evidently, Grant realized this too. Just as I'm thinking I can't run anymore, he finally comes to a stop in front of a bus stop. I come panting to a halt soon after, with Anna not far behind me. It takes me a moment to catch my breath, but once I do the questions just come tumbling out.

"What are you in so much of a hurry for? How come you're not telling us anything? Wh-"

He's fast to cut me off. "Look, I'll explain everything when to you when we get back to my place, okay?" From what I can see behind his rain-matted hair, his eyes are narrowed, and full of anger. I've never seen him this annoyed with me before. I take a step back. Maybe I should shut up for once...

It isn't long before the bus comes, but neither of us speak in that time. Anna kept trying to start a conversation, but there was no way it'd work. You could practically see the tension floating between us.

By the time we step on the bus, we're all soaked to the bone. It's almost as if the amount of rain increased in the short few minutes we were standing there. What if this really does turn into a hurricane? I mean, Grant is usually pretty accurate when it comes to this stuff. Somehow. While we were waiting, he kept tapping his foot and looking around, as if he were desperate to get moving. I almost got the feeling we were slowing him down.

Unfortunately, we don't even get to sit on the bus; it's packed tighter than a can of sardines. But despite the lack of room, Grant and I make an effort to get as far away from each other as possible. It helps that everyone tends to do the same when it comes to wet children. Adults can't even stand a little water. Sad if you ask me.

Eventually, we reach the outskirts of the city, or at least the closest stop to it. Grant's house is actually pretty far out of it, making it a hassle to get there sometimes. At least his place is large. I guess that's a benefit to living so far away from everything.

It takes way longer than I would've liked to reach Grant's house. However little I dried out is all but pointless now. I really hope this storm clears up soon. I can't take a whole trip back to the orphanage. But by the time we reach Grant's place, his older sister, Maddie, is outside at the front door, calling and waving him over. Luckily for here, there's a roof over their porch. Of course she gets to be dry.

"Where have you been?" she shouts once we're in earshot. "Mom and Dad have been trying to call you for an hour!"

"My phone's been messed up lately," Grant replies. "You know that."

"Whatever. Just get inside already. Mom and Dad think-" Finally, the 18 year old's gaze settles on me and Anna. She suddenly looks very worried. Maybe coming here was a bad idea... "Uh, hey Danny and... sorry. Don't know you."

"It's Anna." She tells her bluntly. She doesn't exactly take well to being the one out-of-the-loop. Not her best quality if you ask me.

"Yeah... How about you two get inside?" Then, she all put pushes us in the door, leaving only herself and Grant outside.

After a moment, after getting over the surprise, Anna finally says something. "Is it just me, or are they hiding something?"

I start ringing out my hat, the water practically coming out like a waterfall. "Yeah, I get the feeling Grant's not telling me something. He always gets weird like this when we're at his house..."

A sly smile creeps onto her face. "Maybe you were onto something when you started stalking him." I'm going to choose to ignore that. Not that I could do anything about it, since Grant and Maddie chose to come in right then.

"How about you two head over to the kitchen?" Maddie suggests. "We'll go find some dry clothes for you." Without even waiting for an answer, she starts ushering us over to the kitchen, which isn't too far from the front door. And it isn't long before the two are heading upstairs, hopefully to get some dry clothes like they said.

"Oh, and help yourself to anything in the fridge," Grant calls down before disappearing from the view.

"This is getting weirder," Anna says after a few seconds. "Something's off here."

"It's not too weird," I tell her, opening the fridge door. He's always got something good in here. "He always lets me raid his fridge."

"No, not that!" she snaps. I pull out a jello cup. Just what I was looking for. "Look, doesn't any of this strike you as odd? I mean, I know your friend's family is weird, but this is too out of place."

I grab a spoon and peel open the snack cup. "Since when do you even care? You seemed pretty disinterested in this whole thing at the start."

She folds her arms over her chest and turns away with a huff. "I just think this is too odd. I think the real question is why are you so disinterested now?" She pauses for a moment before practically seeming to deflate. "You know what, fine. You were right. This is the one time I'll admit that."

Just what I wanted to hear.

I toss the now empty plastic cup into the trash. "Well, since you said it-"

"Rub it in and I'll destroy you."

"As I was saying, I'd say we have another few minutes before they show up again. Which is just enough time to look around a little." I take a step forward, but right then, there's an impossibly loud boom of thunder. I can't help but cover my ears; it sounds like lightning flashed right above us! And by the time it's over, there's a loud popping noise and everything goes dark. The power's out.

It's then that Grant and Maddie return from upstairs, each carrying a bundle of clothes. "Hey, are you guys okay?" Maddie asks. "Nothing exploded or anything from that power surge?"

"W-we're fine," Anna stutters. You know, she looks kind of pale if you ask me. Almost like she's afraid of thunder and lightning. Oh, I am so messing with her later!

"And you're out of jello," I add. What? They needed to know so they can buy more.

"Yeah," Grant says upon reaching the kitchen. The two of them then hand us each a pile of clothes to wear. I've gotta say, it'll be nice to get out of these wet clothes. "The bathroom's down the hall, Anna."

While she goes down the hallway to change, I turn my attention to Grant. Question time.

"Okay, I think it's about time you tell me what's been going on with you lately. You've obviously been hiding something."

Once again, he looks hesitant. "Look, I told you I'd tell you eventually, but now's not the time."

"Wait, you said you'd tell him?" Maddie shouts. Both of us spin around to face her in shock. I almost forgot she was there. And she looks mad. But suddenly, she seems to have realized what she said. I knew they were hiding something! "I'll deal with you later, but for now, Mom and Dad want us downstairs." With that, she grabbed Grant's arm (with a lot of force) and drags him off toward the basement door.

"Ow! Hey, lay off!"

Great. I'm not getting anything out of those two, am I? After another minute or so, Anna comes back, wearing her new clothes. She has a yellow shirt with some fabric going around her waist and a white skirt that goes right above her knees. To be honest, I didn't really think it's fit her that well if they were basically hand-me downs. I hope I'm that lucky.

I head into the bathroom and unfold the clothes. It's probably one of Grant's old clothes, which is kind of embarrassing since we're the same age. It actually looks my size too. He just has to be taller than me, doesn't he?

But that's besides the point. I'm glad to peel off my (now somewhat drier) wet clothes and get the new ones on. And it turns out they do fit me. At least it's something I kind of like. A neon green shirt with white sleeves and a pair of blue cargo pants. Lots of pockets; perfect. Of course, my white hoodie's going to cover it up most of the time...

Just as I finish pulling my sneakers back on, there's a banging on the bathroom door, making me jump up. "Hey, hurry up!" Grant? What's he doing back up so quickly. "It's kind of an emergency!"

I open the door to see Grant standing there, looking a little panicked. "What's the problem?"

He grabs my arm and drags me out. "No time to explain. For real this time!"

"Wait, what?" Before I know it, we're at the basement door. Grant throws it open and we're soon racing down the cement steps. Thankfully, he

Let go of my hand by then so I don't end up falling down. That would hurt.

"Is this a hurricane or something? Why are we going to the basement?"

"Uh well, not exactly," he mutters. Finally, we reach the basement. Honestly, I was expecting more. There's just a bunch of junk scattered about. Usual basement stuff. Where's the weird stuff I was kept away from for the past 10 years? This is boring.

"Wait a minute, where are the other guys?" Unfortunately, Grant doesn't seem to be paying much attention to me. He's over by the back wall, muttering to himself. I can't catch what he's saying, but I don't think I need to.

In a few seconds, a rectangle of light around the wall appears. In a moment, it slides forward and away, revealing a hallway leading to who knows where. A secret door! I knew he was hiding something!

"I know this is weird and all, but you should really get inside right now." Grant explains. He seems kind of desperate. Yeah, this would be a good time to do what he says. But I swear, if I don't get some answers soon, I'll take all of the good snacks from his fridge. I'll just leave the tapioca pudding or something.


End file.
